


So Precious, So Small

by Boomchick



Series: Tumblr Prompts [17]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: M/M, Parenthood, Post Mpreg, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:27:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24587581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boomchick/pseuds/Boomchick
Summary: Oneshot prompt fill from Tumblr, featuring Tomowowo's character SophieSophie is only a few months old, but Cloud is already starting to worry about how much of her life Sephiroth will miss.
Relationships: Sephiroth/Cloud Strife
Series: Tumblr Prompts [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1774831
Comments: 1
Kudos: 126





	So Precious, So Small

**Author's Note:**

> For more about Sophie, check out Tomo's doujin: https://www.deviantart.com/bunny-boss/art/Precious-1-259276849
> 
> One of a series of prompts written on Tumblr for those who are supporting the BLM movement. This one was requested by Anon who asked: "Could I request sefikura featuring sweet baby Sophie? I am at home with a baby"
> 
> If you've donated, protested, or otherwise supported black lives, you can come and make a request too! https://boomchickfanfiction.tumblr.com/

“Shh, shh, shh,” Cloud whispered, his tiny daughter squalling into his chest. “Hush, Sophie baby. It’s okay. You’re okay. Your daddy’s getting your bottle.”

Sophie hiccuped, tiny fists clinging to Cloud automatically, bunching his cozy shirt. He could feel the front of his shirt getting wet from her tears and spit. But even as he bounced her she grabbed a mouthful of fabric to chew on, whimpering to herself. She lifted her eyes to him. Huge and soulful and just like those eyes that made Cloud melt no matter whose face they looked out of.

If he’d thought he was bad at resisting Sephiroth’s stare, Sophie was far harder to deny.

“I know, baby.” He sighed as she sniffled piteously, spitting out his shirt in distaste and starting to work herself up to crying again. “I know. Everything’s so hard.”

“She’s a baby.” Sephiroth said, finally walking back into the room. “How hard can it be?”

“It’s hard for her,” Cloud objected immediately, cuddling her closely and nuzzling into the soft tuft of silver hair on her head. “Everything that happens is the worst or best thing that’s ever happened to her.”

Gods, he thought, inhaling against her head. Why did she smell so good? Did all babies smell this good? Or was it yet another marker of how special she was?

“Let me borrow your arm,” Sephiroth said, gesturing to him. “My heat tolerance is too high to be sure.”

Cloud extended his arm, watching Sephiroth dab a drop of Sophie’s milk onto his inner arm.

“Good?” Sephiroth asked, cool green eyes lifting to Cloud.

“Perfect.” Cloud said. “She’ll love it.”

He lifted Sophie gently away from his chest, offering her towards Sephiroth, but froze as the silver-haired general took a step back and away from them.

“Seph.” He said after a moment. “We talked about this. We’re her parents. No shirking all the parenting stuff onto me.”

“I’m not.” Sephiroth said. “But she’ll be more comfortable with you.”

“Because I feed her all the time while you’re at work.” Cloud objected. “Take her.”

Sephiroth took another step back, eyes narrowed and glancing aside. Cloud glared at him, then grunted in annoyance, holding his hand out for the bottle.

“Fine. She’s too fussy for me to fight with you about it.”

“you’re angry.” Sephiroth noted, passing over the bottle gratefully.

“She’s YOUR daughter.” Cloud snapped, though he softened immediately as Sophie gave a pitiful little whine. “Oh, sorry baby. I won’t yell. Here’s dinner time!”

She grabbed onto the bottle hard, cradled in one of his arms. Soon he wouldn’t have to hold it for her at all. She was getting stronger every day. And from the way the nurses had reacted at her check up, it was not a normal baby’s strength. No surprise there.

“I am sorry.” Sephiroth said. “That you have ended up taking the brunt of the work.”

“Ugh.” Cloud muttered, keeping his eyes on Sophie to remind himself to keep his voice down as her huge eyes finally went half-lidded while she focused intensely on the bottle, her tiny brows furrowed in what could have been a miniature version of Sephiroth’s battle expression, and he couldn’t help but laugh softly at her.

“It’s not really that I’m worried about,” He admitted, shifting his stance as she drank, giving her a little of the motion she constantly seemed to crave.

“Enlighten me.” Sephiroth said.

“You’re her dad.” Cloud said, lifting his eyes. “And don’t get me wrong, I know… I know neither of us really expected or planned for… But you’re her dad, Seph. And you keep…” He struggled for the word, unable to gesture with both his hands tied up in Sophie’s dinner time.

“Hiding.” He finally finished, glancing up at him. “She’s only going to be a baby once, you know.”

“I should hope so.” Sephiroth replied flatly.

“You need to bond with her.” Cloud snapped back, annoyed by Sephiroth’s constant refusal to have a serious discussion.

Sophie whined behind the bottle. Twisted her head away from the nipple to start caterwalling again. Cloud winced as she howled, bouncing her softly in apology for yelling. He was alarmed to find a huge body in his space as Sephiroth stepped forward, hands hovering.

“Is she hurt?” He asked, tension in every line.

“No, I just scared her.” Cloud sighed. “I’m sorry for yelling, baby. It’s okay…”

Sephiroth stood very still. So close that Cloud could have leaned against him. He didn’t. He just waited, glancing up from their crying child to try to read Sephiroth’s expression.

It was a study in contradiction. His lips were tight, his brows furrowed, but his eyes… His eyes were fixed on Sophie. And in them, Cloud thought he could see such adoration. Such absolute reverence for the tiny life in his hands.

“Talk to me.” Cloud urged. “We’re parents together, Seph. I’ll back you up. But you have to tell me what’s wrong.”

“What if I break her?” Sephiroth asked, his voice unusually low. Unusually private. He lifted one hand. Offered one finger to Sophie, letting her grab him and try to flail with his hand in distress. “I am a war machine. Not a father.”

Cloud stared at him a moment, thinking. Then he took a deep breath and took advantage of Sephiroth’s closeness. He lifted his child, pressed her into Sephiroth’s chest, and started to let go.

“Cloud!” Sephrioth objected, but his hands closed safe and warm around her. It looked ridiculous, Sophie in her little purple onesie, cradled in his leather-clad arms against his bare chest. She looked even smaller than usual compared to how huge he was.

“Here,” Cloud said instead of commenting, carefully gripping Sephiroth’s arms and shifting them. Altering his grip till she was cradled safely and comfortably in his arm and he had one hand free. He pressed the bottle into that one.

“Move,” He ordered Sephiroth. “Rock. Sway. Tell her she’s okay.”

Sephiroth stared at him, the howling infant in his arms only making him look all the more unstable and uncertain.

“It helps her feel better.” Cloud instructed. “So move. It doesn’t have to be much. You can just sway a little.”

“It won’t work.” Sephiroth said. “Children area always afraid of me.”

“Yours won’t be.” Cloud said. “Sway.”

Sephiroth swallowed, and shifted his weight, slowly. It made his leathers creak, a strained accompaniment to Sophie’s wailing.

“Hm.” Cloud said. Then he carefully reached out. Hooked some of SEphiroth’s hair out from behind his shoulder and offered it down to the child.

“Oh, how tough is your scalp?” He offered belatedly.

“What?” Sephiroth said, even as Sophie gave a little squeal and gripped the sparkly new toy. The first yank made Sephiroth’s eyes go huge. The second managed to rouse a small sound of alarm and discomfort from him. He stood, staring down at Sophie with a look of utter betrayal.

Until she laughed. It was still new, her laughing. Sephiroth hadn’t been home for her first. With how much he worked, he would probably miss a lot of those moments. Her first steps. Her first word. Cloud had promised himself he’d wait to talk about it until Sephiroth could experience it too.

So when she burst into laughter, flapping her arms in delight, tugging on Sephiroth’s hair over and over, Cloud beamed, looking up to his lover.

And watched Sephiroth loose his breath, staring down at his laughing daughter. Watched him bow his head over her and slowly sink to his knees, still cradling her safely.

“Seph?” Cloud asked, his smile dropping immediately, even as Sophie kept giggling and cooing, playing with her daddy’s hair.

Sephiroth didn’t reply. He set the bottle down carefully and curled both his arms around Sophie. Hunched over her, kneeling on the floor, his hair spilling around him. As if he’d been wounded. As if he’d been struck straight through the heart.

Cloud didn’t understand. Maybe he never would. Sephiroth didn’t share his secrets often. But he sat beside Sephiroth anyway, and wrapped an arm around his back, halfway hugging him while Sephiroth curled over their daughter.

When he finally straightened, he picked up the bottle and turned to Cloud, as calm as he always appeared to be.

“Will it have cooled too much by now?”

“Nah.” Cloud said. “Should still be fine.”

Sephiroth nodded. Switched his position carefully so he was sitting by Cloud’s side rather than kneeling. Carefully offered his daughter the nipple of the bottle.

She latched on so viciously that Cloud winced in sympathy for the rubber nipple. He was secretly VERY glad the experiments that changed him hadn’t changed him THAT much…

“Is it good?” Sephiroth asked, glancing to Cloud. “The formula?”

“Huh?” Cloud asked, blinking out of his thoughts.

“She likes it.” Sephiroth said, looking down at his daughter with an agonizing tenderness in his expression. “Is it good?”

“No,” Cloud chuckled. “It’s gross. But she’s a baby, and it’s good for her. We’ll feed her much better things when she’s old enough.”

Sephiroth hummed softly. Then quietly, and very slowly, leaned closer to Cloud, until their shoulders were pressed together. He didn’t speak again, but he fed Sophie until she was full, then carefully followed Cloud’s instructions to burp her, wordless and obedient, his big hands delicate as he patted her tiny back.

He didn’t even complain when she spit up on his leathers and Cloud, in his sleep deprived state, nearly laughed himself sick at his expense.

And day by day, though they had never intended this life for themselves, they made it work. For Sophie.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, and for the request!  
> Please donate to https://atlsolidarity.org/ if you can to support my local BLM movement, or find the organization closest to you and support them!


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